Congress
Bipartisan group discusses using discharged House bill for compromise health plan
A bipartisan group of moderate lawmakers privately strategized Wednesday about how to pass an extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies early next year — possibly by using a newly discharged House bill as a vehicle for a Senate-backed bipartisan compromise.
The closed-door discussion among House and Senate members about amending the discharged measure was described by four people who were granted anonymity to comment on the sensitive negotiations. It took place at a Capitol Hill meeting hosted by the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, whose members have spent weeks exploring possible compromises to extend the subsidies past Dec. 31.
The effort hit a wall this week, after talks with Speaker Mike Johnson to get a floor vote on a compromise extension proposal failed. Four of them, including Problem Solvers co-chair Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), broke ranks Wednesday and completed a discharge petition led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Not all members of the Problem Solvers coalition are convinced that amending the Jeffries-backed bill — a straight three-year extension of the enhanced subsidies enacted under former President Joe Biden — would be the most viable proposal.
Some Democrats privately noted that the three-year extension is already drafted and has support from a majority of House and Senate lawmakers. They also pointed out that other subsidy extension proposals, which include new eligibility limitations and anti-fraud measures, have less support in the House.
But Republicans involved in the talks argue the three-year extension won’t be able to pass the Senate — it fell short of the necessary 60 votes last week — and are trying to rally support behind a compromise proposal that could pick up additional GOP support. In any case, no action is expected before Congress adjourns for the year.
“They’re going to have to put something on the floor,” Fitzpatrick said of the Senate in an interview. “We’re going to send them a vehicle. … I mean, that was the whole point of the meeting with the senators.”
Senators who attended included Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Angus King (I-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio).
Moreno, who has put forward his own compromise proposal with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), said the group was talking in “good faith” and “working together to get something done.”
Some lawmakers in the meeting suggested that a deal could encompass more than proposals to extend the enhanced premium tax credits. Republicans have also endorsed ideas to expand tax-advantaged health savings accounts and make it easier for small businesses to create insurance plans.
“The talks about what we might be able to come together around included other provisions, and I’m not going to get into any of those details,” said Shaheen, one of the lead Senate Democratic negotiators.
Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.
Rep. Max Miller issued a subpoena to his former father-in-law and fellow Ohio Republican, Sen. Bernie Moreno, in the latest escalation of a long-running family legal drama.
Pamela MacAdams, an attorney for Miller, reported to the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Monday that three subpoenas were served in Miller’s divorce case, according to court records. A person with knowledge of the subpoenas granted anonymity to comment on them said that two were sent to Moreno and his wife, Bridget.
Their daughter, Emily Moreno, was married to Miller, and the two remain embroiled in a nasty legal battle.
Spokespeople for Miller, Emily Moreno and Bernie Moreno did not immediately return requests for comment. TMZ first reported on the subpoenas.
Miller is seeking reelection in a competitive district, and his campaign has been marred by accusations of domestic abuse against Emily Moreno and their daughter. Miller has repeatedly denied the allegations and chose to remain in the race despite other Republican lawmakers pressuring him to withdraw his campaign.
The House Ethics Committee, which began an inquiry into Miller after Miller asked to be investigated, is currently in a preelection blackout period. During that period, which will continue through the midterms, the Ethics Committee doesn’t take any action against sitting members who could return next Congress.
Congress
Trump declares $1B canceled in ‘pocket rescission’ in another affront to Congress’ funding power
President Donald Trump informed congressional leaders Friday that he has unilaterally canceled almost $1 billion without Congress’ consent — employing a budget maneuver many lawmakers consider illegal.
In a move that will almost certainly set up an ugly government funding battle after the midterms, Trump has again claimed the power to execute a so-called “pocket rescission” to nix money Congress has already enacted. The money his administration will claw back is for for immigration services, support to foreign countries, education programs, health research efforts and assistance for businesses owned by minorities.
By law, the president is allowed to send Congress a request to rescind federal funding, then withhold that money for 45 days while lawmakers consider whether to approve, reject or ignore it. Trump administration officials also argue they have the power to cancel funding without any congressional action by sending Congress a rescission request with less than 45 days left in the fiscal year. The argument is that the money automatically gets canceled on Sept. 30, when funding lapses at the end of the fiscal year.
Last year, Trump canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid.
The Senate’s top Republican appropriator, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, immediately blasted the move as illegal, saying in a statement Friday night that “any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.”
“This move shows that OMB intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation of appropriations that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law,” Collins added, pledging to work with other lawmakers “to address these illegal actions.”
Collins and other appropriators have already been on high alert in recent days, pressing multiple agencies about funding officials have yet to spend ahead of the expiration date.
Democrats are finally catching on to how to talk to young male voters in the lead-up to the midterms, but the party can still up its game, one battleground senator and potential 2028er said Friday.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has been one of his party’s most outspoken critics on its handling of outreach to young men, who swung right and helped deliver the White House and both chambers of Congress to Republicans in 2024.
The party is now “definitely moving in the right direction,” Gallego said Friday.
“Like back in the day, I was like the only one,” putting out positions on men, Gallego said at a Washington event on young American men. “Now, like, it seems like everyone every week is coming out with a new position, new idea, which is great.”
Gallego has criticized Democrat’s failure to highlight mens’ struggles and their tendency to over-police mens’ ideas. But there are signs the political winds have shifted in his party’s favor.
A new Cygnal poll released with the event of men ages 18-30 who say they’re the most determined to vote revealed Democrats’ generic ballot lead over Republicans at 57%-40%, Blue Light News reported. The poll also said nearly 40 percent of respondents said they feel their lives are off track.
“We need to take the opportunity to invest in that portion of this country, to say that we care about them and actually try to change the trajectory of what’s happening with men in this country,” Gallego said at the symposium.
Still, the path for specific legislation targeting the needs of this demographic faces an incredibly tight calendar this Congress and is uncertain in the political landscape of next year.
A proposal from Gallego and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) to establish a men’s health office within the Department of Health and Human Services, for example, has not advanced. Nor has bipartisan legislation from Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who also spoke at the event, targeting education outcomes, college investment transparency and dyslexic student support.
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